Low Back Pain Common Among Kids

“Historically, pediatric training has emphasized that a specific factor or factors cause low back pain in children and adolescents, but recent studies have informed us that is not necessarily the case,” said review lead author Dr. James MacDonald. He’s a sports medicine physician at Nationwide Children’s.

“Most pain with no specific cause responds to rest, rehabilitation and identification of predisposing risk factors,” he said in a hospital news release.

Though the causes of children’s lower back pain are usually benign, the researchers recommend a thorough checkup by a primary care physician to rule out anything more serious.

“While some lower back pain needs to be treated by a specialist, most pediatricians who have a good understanding of the principles outlined in our article can help children and adolescents prevent and manage lower back pain,” MacDonald noted.

Because many backaches are sports-related, the researchers emphasized the importance of preseason sports conditioning programs to help reduce injuries.

“Additionally, rest should be incorporated into the training regimen, especially for athletes who perform repetitive motions, such as tumbling in gymnastics,” the researchers said.